Emerson Ferreira da Rosa (born 4 April 1976), simply known as Emerson, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. At international level, he played 73 games for the Brazil national team between 1997 and 2006, scoring 6 goals. With Brazil, he has taken part in two FIFA World Cups (1998, 2006, missing out on the 2002 FIFA World Cup due to injury), two editions of the Copa América (1999, 2001), and three Confederations Cups (1999, 2003, 2005), winning the 1999 Copa América and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, while also reaching the 1998 World Cup Final.
An experienced footballer who was nicknamed the Puma due to his powerful but elegant, ball-winning style of play, Emerson played for two Brazilian clubs, Grêmio and Santos, as well as several European clubs in Germany, Italy, and Spain, including Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, Juventus, Real Madrid and Milan, winning several titles. In addition to his Brazilian passport, Emerson also holds Italian and German passports. However, due to the quota imposed on non-EU players, Emerson was unable to play until Emerson acquired Italian nationality in October 2000, as his wife is Italian–Brazilian. Emerson made his Serie A debut in a 3–0 victory on 28 January 2001 against Napoli, replacing Marco Delvecchio in the 56th minute. Roma eventually won the Scudetto and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2001. Roma would also reach the Coppa Italia final during the 2002–03 season, losing out to Milan.
Juventus
After a prolonged transfer saga in which Roma wanted to sell Emerson to Real Madrid instead of Serie A rivals Juventus, Emerson was eventually sold to Juventus (which he preferred) in 2004 for €12 million plus Matteo Brighi (who was valued at €16 million), following in the footsteps of his former club coach, Fabio Capello. Moreover, an additional €4 million was paid to the agents, which made Emerson cost €32 million in total. Emerson won two consecutive Serie A titles with Juventus during the 2004–05 and the 2005–06 seasons, but both titles were revoked following the club's involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal.
Real Madrid
After two seasons with Juventus, and following their relegation to Serie B due to their role in the 2006 Italian football scandal, Emerson moved to Real Madrid on 19 July 2006, again following Fabio Capello, costing Real Madrid €16 million. However, due to the declining relationship between Emerson and Capello and Emerson's poor performances for Real Madrid, in January 2007 Emerson stated his desire to return to Juventus, while it was rumoured he would be willing to take a pay cut.
However, by May, Emerson's performances had improved considerably, along with a great improvement in the team's results, and on 12 May 2007 he declared his intention to remain with Real Madrid. But in his conversation with the radio program El Larguero, Real Madrid club president Ramón Calderón said Emerson would leave Real Madrid in the summer (along with the Italian striker Antonio Cassano) for technical reasons. Emerson won La Liga in his only season with Real Madrid.
Milan
On 21 August 2007, Milan officially confirmed the transfer of Emerson for €6 million. He made his Milan debut in the club's 3–1 UEFA Super Cup victory over Sevilla on 31 August. However, Emerson was unable to contribute significantly to his new club due to injury, only managing 20 appearances for Milan in the 2007–08 season. Nonetheless, he was also able to win the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup with Milan. On 21 April 2009, he and the club mutually agreed to terminate his contract.
Immediately following his release, Emerson began negotiations with Grêmio with the aim of ending his career with his first club. However, due to international transfer restrictions, Emerson was unable to join Grêmio until August 2009 at the earliest.
Santos
After his release from Milan, on 26 July 2009 Emerson signed a contract with Santos. On 16 October 2009, Emerson decided to terminate his contract and leave Santos due to injury problems. Emerson then underwent surgery and retired from active competition.
Miami Dade FC
On 3 November 2015, Emerson announced he was joining Miami Dade FC of the American Premier Soccer League (APSL). On 7 May 2017, Emerson made his debut for Miami Dade alongside former Brazil national team player Gabriel in a 3–1 victory against Jupiter United. On 2 July, he won the 2017 Regular Season Championship, undefeated.
International career
Emerson made his Brazil debut on 10 September 1997, in a home friendly match against Ecuador, in Salvador, Bahia, also scoring a goal in the match, as Brazil went on to win 4–2. He was a late replacement for Romário at the 1998 FIFA World Cup following Romário's injury. The defending World Cup champions Brazil reached the final, losing 3–0 to hosts and eventual champions France. (Four years later, it would be Emerson who would miss out on a spot at the 2002 World Cup due to injury.)
The following year, Emerson won the 1999 Copa América with Brazil, as Brazil overcame Uruguay in the final. Emerson scored one goal during the tournament, in Brazil's 7–0 win in its opening group match against Venezuela. He was replaced by Ricardinho of Corinthians, while Cafu replaced him as captain. Brazil would ultimately win the tournament.
In 2005, Emerson won the 2005 Confederations Cup with Brazil, who defeated South American rivals Argentina 4–1 in the final, as well as overcoming hosts Germany 3–2 in the semi-finals. On 30 March 2005, Emerson scored a goal in an away 1–1 draw against Uruguay in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match. This would be Emerson's final match for Brazil. Brazil were eventually knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual finalists France. Emerson was excluded from the starting line-up in Brazil's quarter-final match due to injury.
After the 2006 World Cup, Emerson retired from the national team, having scored 6 goals in 73 appearances. In addition to the aforementioned tournaments, Emerson also represented Brazil in the 2001 Copa América, in Colombia, where Brazil lost in the quarter-finals to Honduras; and in the 2003 Confederations Cup in France, where Brazil was surprisingly eliminated in the first round, finishing third in their group.
Playing style
Emerson was an experienced, quick, combative, hardworking and dynamic player, who was capable of being deployed in several midfield positions. He played as a central midfielder, and as a box-to-box midfielder on occasion, although his main position was that of a defensive midfielder, who was renowned for breaking down the opposition's play through his efficient tackling, stamina, anticipation, and ability to read the game. He was also capable of subsequently starting up attacking plays once he won back possession, due to his quick and effective passing style, as well as his technique. These attributes led to his nickname Il Puma for his elegant, yet powerful, feline movements when chasing down opponents in midfield. -->
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="5"|Grêmio
|1994
|rowspan="4"|Série A
|18||2||6||0||4||0||||||28||2
|-
|1995
|11||1||1||0||2||0||||||14||1
|-
|1996
|25||5||5||0||4||0||1||0||35||5
|-
|1997
|0||0||7||0||7||2||||||14||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!54||8||19||0||17||2||1||0||91||10
|-
|rowspan="4"|Bayer Leverkusen
|1997–98
|rowspan="3"|Bundesliga
|25||1||3||0||9||4||1||0||38||5
|-
|1998–99
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="10"|Brazil
|1997||3||1
|-
|1998||2||0
|-
|1999||17||2
|-
|2000||8||2
|-
|2001||11||0
|-
|2002||4||0
|-
|2003||10||0
|-
|2004||0||0
|-
|2005||13||1
|-
|2006||5||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total||73||6
|}
:Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Emerson goal.
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1996
- Copa do Brasil: 1994, 1997
- Copa Libertadores: 1995
- Recopa Sudamericana: 1996
Roma